Book 6, Part 4.1: Blameless Woman, Poor Dear

It really should not be a surprise that the women of the house are just staring at Hector considering, remember, how he’s covered in blood and guts, holding a sixteen foot spear and wearing a golden helmet.

Also, Andromache is often portrayed as the sad wife who doesn’t want her husband to fulfill his duty to his troops, as selfish, as a “seductress” trying to thwart the hero, etc., etc., and so forth. However, the more I think about this scene the more I think that’s not really what’s going on here. She asks Hector to stay inside the walls with a retinue of men BECAUSE this is the weakest part of the city, there is a prophecy about how this side of the city is dangerous (or something? my translation is unclear?) AND it is the only part of the city with scaleable walls and Ajax, Idomeneus, AND Diomedes keep making attacks at this WEAKEST PART OF THE CITY. Sure, Hector is the next in line to the kingdom, but it was normal, from what I remember, for kings in Asia Minor to personally fight for their cities. I don’t think Andromache is asking Hector to stop being a dutiful soldier, I think she’s asking him to be a SMARTER one. I think she is an intelligent woman who has thought this through and, yeah, sure, she doesn’t want her husband to die. But she also doesn’t want her city to be overrun by Greeks.

ANYWAY. Those are my two cents. Or five cents. Whatever. There’s some cents of mine, take it or leave it or share thoughts of your own.

In addition: Andromache going on about how Hector is her father/mother/brother/husband reminds me of Ruth and Naomi, I’m not sure why.

AND I have been thinking and I might have to go down to posting only once a week? I’ve just been working 40+ hours a week and trying to write more, stay up with my reading, keep up relationships with friends, and also trying to post 2-3 times a week and it’s not working. I keep missing days/weeks and I’d rather be consistent less often than inconsistent more often, if that makes sense? I also want this to be something fun I do, and I never want it to become some sort of chore I dread, because that defeats the purpose of this. Anyway. I’ll let you know what I decide about that by the end of the month (WHICH is RIDICULOUSLY soon WHERE THE HECK did May go?)